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Creative has extended its Zen Neeon MP3 family into Flash territory, the better to compete with the similarly diminutive iPod Nano. Already available with either a 5GB or 6GB hard drive, the Neeeon family now includes three new members offering 512MB, 1GB and 2GB of music storage capacity, respectively.

The Neeeeon weighs in at 55g, just above the Nano's 42g, and the two players' vital statistics are 8 x 4.7 x 1.6cm and 8.8 x 5.6 x 0.7cm, respectively. Creative claims a 32-hour playback period, more than double the 14 hours Apple says the Nano can run for on a single charge.

The Neeeeeon sports a two-colour, 128 x 64 OLED screen, so it's not geared up for photo viewing, but then that's one of the trade-offs you make for the much longer battery life.

There's a line-in port for direct MP3 encoding, and the usual microphone for voice memos. In some territories with more favourable import-duty regimes, the player contains an FM radio.

The Neeeeeeon connects to a host PC using USB 1.1 or USB 2.0, and according to Creative, operates as a USB Mass Storage device, so there's no need to install file-transfer software. It should also connect up to Mac and Linux-based systems.

The three new Neeeeeeeons were announced yesterday for the Singapore market. There's no word yet on US availability and pricing, however a UK spokesman told us the company has no plans at the moment to bring the player to Europe. ®